Roseanne seeks presidency

Staff and wire services

WASHINGTON — Part-time Big Island resident Roseanne Barr said Thursday she’s running for the Green Party’s presidential nomination — and it’s no joke.

The actress-comedian said in a statement that she’s a longtime supporter of the party and looks forward to working with people who share her values. She said the two major parties aren’t serving the American people.

“The Democrats and Republicans have proven that they are servants — bought and paid for by the 1% — who are not doing what’s in the best interest of the American people,” Barr said.

Occupy Wall Street protesters popularized the “We are the 99 percent” slogan in their fight against economic disparity and perceived corporate greed.

Barr has submitted paperwork to the Green Party for her candidacy. The party’s presidential nominee will be selected at a convention in Baltimore in July.

Barr said she has been fighting for working-class families and women for decades.

“I will barnstorm American living rooms,” she said in a candidate questionnaire submitted to the Green Party. “Mainstream media will be unable to ignore me, but more importantly they will be unable to overlook the needs of average Americans in the run-up to the 2012 election.”

Barr’s hit TV sitcom “Roseanne” aired from 1988 to 1997 and earned her an Emmy and a Golden Globe. She played a wise-cracking mom in the comedy about a blue-collar family.

Last year, Barr starred in a Lifetime Television reality show called “Roseanne’s Nuts.” It was shot on her 40-acre macadamia nut farm near Honokaa.

The show was dropped after just one season. Despite the cancellation, Barr’s son Jake Pentland told the Tribune-Herald last September that Barr still lived on the farm, which she bought for $1.78 million in 2007.

Barr also maintains a politically charged blog at www.roseanneworld.com.